SPOTLIGHT Giants offensive coordinator began pro coaching apprenticeship with CFL's Alouettes Gilbride's road to the Bowl ran through Montreal CAM COLE CANWEST NEWS SERVICE LEN DA LE, ARIZ, - If you sub­ the Holiday Inn overlooking the Pay close attention now, Gscribe to the "six degrees of water where the seaplanes there'll be a test later: separation" theory that it's a would take off and land.... " {- Gilbride played quarterback damned small world out there, There is scarcely a detail at little Southern Connecticut consider the case of Kevin Gilbride doesn't recall about State, where the previous start­ Gilbride, whose budding coach­ his days in the CFL, starting as ingpivothad been Chris Palmer. ing career in pro football was a guest coach with the Palmer is Eli Manning's quar­ rudely interrupted by the fold­ Saskatchewan Roughriders, terback coach with the Giants, a ing of the Alouettes the day moving to Ottawa as Joe Moss's job Gilbride held for three before they were to opeD the . offensive coordinator in 1985­ seasons until he took over the of­ 1987 season. 86, jumping to Montreal on fensive coordinator's job from Now Gilbride finds himself, coach Joe Faragalli's promise John Hufnagel in Game 16 at the end of the 2007 campaign, of great things to come under a year ago. Hufnagel, the old coordinating the offence of the new GM Norm Kimball .... CFL quarterback, is head coach New York Giants, who will try "We were in the airport, fly­ of the Calgary Stampeders. to spoil the New England Patri­ ing over to Toronto for our + When Gilbride got the call to ots' perfect season Sunday in opening game, and got called go to Ottawa in 1985, Moss told Super Bowl XLll. back to Olympic Stadium to be him he'd be expected to use the ''Ah, Vancouver," he said told it was over," Gilbride said. run-and-shoot offence. lUCY NICHOLSON REUTERS yesterday, spying a reporter's "We'd already gone through "Eli is like one of those overnight success stories they talk about credential tag. "Great city. I training camp and preseason, Please see GILBRIDE, Page C3 'n Hollywood, that have been quietly working at it for years," loved going in there when I was and all of a sudden, no more Giants punter Feagles puts boot offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride says of Giants pivot Manning, in Ottawa, we used to stay at team." to long Bowl drought, Page 0 I ... Palmer, meanwhile, who also v .. -- - ~ . , ..e -GUbride'S Ryan dldn t 1"> calling it worked briefly inMontreal as the hoot ffenC€. d ---- run-an d-s -Ii ck" and den ­ Concordes' offensive-line coach in ILBRIDE the "chuck-and U Sunti.l their 1983, joined Gilbride in Houston. ed Gilbride:s effort ted dtu·ing a ... Each of them at one point d· like eruP .d coached To Brady's predeces­ mutual 18 But Gilbrl e Coach has sor, Drew Bledsoe, to impressive win over the~~e good dayS. seasons -Palmer in New Eng­ prefers to rec 11 carried us to "Mark Brune. hi in Jack- high praise laud. Gjlbride w' th-Buf[alo - and A"'C champlOns P t the Palmer succeeded Gilbride as of­ the J:U' • h taken us 0 ville fensive coordinator under cur­ son . Ell B~ Warren was lffi­ rent Giants head coach Tom Super BOw~ u ouston , and that for Moon Coughlin in Jacksonville in the believable ffi R h uld have gone team probably sf °times. It sure 1990s. Gilbride's second year CONTINUED FROM C1 there, the expansion Jags made it further, a lot? fault we didn't. wasn't war~en ~ason has taught to the AFC championship game. "'What th1S s . th re is be- "Only I didn't 3 ... Palmer tutored Dallas quarter­ fine alme e know anything BOWL 0 back Tony Romo from obscurity rue is hOW s that get here PHOTOS .....:::J tween the team 't" about the run­ ;;:; to the Pro Bowl a year ago, and and the ones that uO~~N a nd-shoot, " Check out has experienced similar success VANCOUVER Gilbride said, our gallery with Manning. "so I had to of photos i::; "Eli is like one of those ~ learn it by as Super 0 overnight success stories they watching film Bowl XLII a and talk ing to brepa~ati ons "(lYe) are playing at (the offence's egmm a level that's allowing inven t or) earnest for Mouse Davis the Patriots people to see what a and (his disci­ and Giants. ple) June Jones, talented gll.lJ he is. " and that led to, OFFENSIVECOORDINATOR KEVIN GILBRIDE, a couple of years later, when ON GIANTS QUARTERBACK ELI MANNING June left the Houston Oilers to go to Detroit, he recommended me. ~alk about in Hollywood, that Otherwise, it never would have have been quietly working at it for happened." years," Gilbride said. "If there's a ... In Houston, Gilbride coached difference in the last five weeks, Warren Moon, the Hall of Fame it's probably that he just hasn't former Edmonton quarterback made a bad decision. And the who's enshrined in Hamilton and pieces around him are playing at Canton, Ohio_G ilbride attended a level that's allowing people to both ceremonies. Moon flew him see what a talented guy he is." and his wife to the Pro Bowl in Confused yet? Hawaii for five straight years Itdoes get to be a blur, Gilbride (1989-93) as a token of thanks to said. The 22 years he has spent in the offensive coordinator. pro ball - he was out of work in All these years later, Gilbride 2001, after two years in Pitts­ still speaks reverently of Moon's burgh, and worked as a TV ana­ luminous talent. lyst for ESPN in the U.S. and "I guess because it was my Sportsnet in Canada - have first foray into (the NFL), I didn't flown by, he said. realize how good he was. I didn't There have been bumps along realize how different he was the way, like getting fired after 22 from anybody else. How driven games in his only head·coaching he was to be good. H could do it stint, with the San Diego Charg­ all, he could run when he had to ers in 1997-98. And most famous­ run, he was an extremely accu­ ly, getting p ched in the jaw by rate passer and he unders od his own head coach, Buddy things about the game, about the Ryan, while the 1993 Oilers were personalities of the players, how rm::ln ll-gamewinstl·p::Ilr to keep them all involved," Gilbride said. .